For the love of… a radio ripoff
Dr Mumbo is a big fan of Nova’s new ad campaign for new Sydney breakfast team Fitzy and Wippa, who started today.
However, it is starting to look a little familiar…
What with the hugging of statues…
And more hugging of statues…
And worshipping of railway stations…
And lying on walls…
And hanging out in skate parks…
Where on earth…
http://youtu.be/MipRUzWCqRY
… could they have got the idea from?
Dr Mumbo had been wondering why, despite having BMF on the roster, this ad was credited to DMG radio’s in-house team, and was rather impressed at their ability to get a big idea without agency help.
He can’t help but wonder whether the UK’s RKCR/ Y&R doesn’t deserve a hat-tip instead…
Still, next time a Murdoch complains about the licence fee funded BBC dragging down the commercial sector, there’s a nice example to offer DMG’s Lachlan Murdoch of the creative inspiration the public sector can offer.
A spokesman for Nova tells Mumbrella:
“For the Fitzy and Wippa ‘For the Love of Sydney’ campaign, we took the original idea inspirations and applied the ‘take the piss’ filter which gave us a pretty clear vision for the TVC and how Fitzy and Wippa’s personality would make it better. We simply got a crew together to make that happen.”
Dr Mumbo certainly agrees that they’re taking the piss.
Very similar… but…Nova’s is heaps funnier…
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I like Nova’s better!
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not surprising, it’s how Nova operates now, they even sound eerily similar to Fox fm now
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The pretty crucial point missed here is that the BBC ad is serious in tone for a serious brand and the nova one features talent that are paid to be funny for a brand that is based in humor and is known for doing skits. As the nova spokesperson has pointed out, it was a piss take and they’ve delivered a pretty bloody funny take on the BBC. The only point I agree above is that nova should thank the UK agency for giving them the inspiration
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You really think the BBC ad is of a “serious” tone?
I’ll acknowledge the fact that Nova’s ad may by amusing; yet it’s amusing on the basis of obscurity. Obscure because their talent is hugging inanimate landmarks and objects around Sydney (and yes, I’ll happily classify Barry O’Farrell inanimate).
The BBC ad is based on the exact same concept of obscurity and is equally amusing. Please note my use of the word “amusing”. The ads are likeable or entertaining, but by no means are they hilarious.
It’s pretty obvious that the concept has been stolen. I mean… appropriated.
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Agree the nova one done in a piss take way, but in order for it to be a parody, shouldn’t people know of the original one to start with?
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The guy looks like the old lady in the first shot although he is wearing cricket whites hugging a Richie Benaud statue….Australia 1, England 0
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@Dan – Nova’s is only funnier because you know the landmarks and the people in the ad. It’s not very similar, it’s exactly the same – right down to shot composition and the types of locations used.
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Very true Steve. Very true. This is actually outrageous. Unashamed piracy.
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Was going to slag BMF, but the read the rest of the article just in time. Lucky for them!
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I’m going to say it. Here we go. Who cares?
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Why does Nova’s ad have to be original? it’s not art, it’s advertising. It has a job to do. Does it make it less effective to be a ripoff/piss take of an ad only shown OS?
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Peter, it makes it less effective as a piss take if no one has seen the original. And it makes it less effective as a piece of creative/advertising/art or whatever you want to call it because it’s a blatant rip off. It’s basically an admission that you couldn’t think of anything good/funny/different. So they’ve plagiarised something else no one else would have been likely to see and called it an ‘homage’? DMG are lucky people are only calling bullshit on this, and not the ASB, the Communications Council (for whatever god that’d do) and the ACCC.
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@Peter Rush You make a good point – this isn’t art, it’s advertising, therefore the creative material has a commercial value. As DMG haven’t been original and just ripped off RKCR / Y&R’s script, they owe them a commercial fee for its use. I’m sure you’d feel the same way if a script you had written was now being used by an OS media company for commercial purposes without your being remunerated for the work.
It’s bad enough when people assume art has no commercial value, but I didn’t think this sorry opinion extended into the world of advertising, which by your own assertion isn’t art…
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I think “pastiche” is the polite word. Or “homage”, if you prefer lobsters.
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And extending comments 13 and 14, DMG have a hide to say it was “created with an in-house team”, when what they mean is “we borrowed the idea from a much-loved BBC campaign, and utilised in-house resources to do our version of it”…..big difference.
Makes you wonder why they bother having BMF on the roster if they are going to hack stuff like this together. I imagine the expense account of the DMG in-house team doesn’t cover too many nice long lunches.
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Sweet FA people will have seen the BBC ad so who gives a toss.
The BBC bored the pants off me. Fitzy and Wippa made me chuckle.
Job done. Get over it.
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good one Lenny, lets not respect, pay for or even acknowledge the ripping off of intellectual property……great way to make the industry disappear up its own arse as clients dilute and copy every old idea they can get their hands on without paying for a new one.
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the rip off isn’t offensive but the Nova spokesman’s garbled and pathetic spin certainly is
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